Progress continued slowly on the gardens. Ever since the battle of Leo, their perspective had shifted sideways. There were needs that had to be met. If things had gone worse, those that were left behind needed to be given more tools. The Hive was endlessly strong, with unfathomable numbers, and this was only the beginning--

I don't want to think about that right now, She insisted with a sharpness that felt needlessly cruel to herself. She winced, making her way to the largest melons that had become ripe in the last cycle. She grabbed one with her front talons, lowering her jaws just so, and bit down on the top of it, gnawing away a messy hole at the top.

It wasn't a clean incision by any means, but that wasn't the point. She reached her claws, scooping at the red flesh inside. She ate as she worked, though the wet fruit was more hydrating than providing any actual food substance. It was messy, cool, refreshing even. A welcome distraction from the world.

It took a long time to get it scooped out enough to be a reasonable container, be careful enough to not make any extra holes in it. Still, she had hollowed out a good amount of it now, so all it needed was her magic. She took a deep breath, and settled her head on the fruit, closing her eyes and letting the magic flow from her stone into the plant.